Mathinthiran, who had acquired French nationality, was sentenced to five years in prison in February for extortion, financing terrorism and being part of a criminal gang.

He had already served three years of his sentence after making a deal with the authorities.

The court also banned the CCT, declaring that it was a front organisation for the LTTE, which the European Union and the US categorise as a “terrorist organisation”.

Mathinthiran’s lawyer Gilles Piquois has accused “Tamil collaborators” with the Sri Lankan government of being behind the killing,, adding that his client had already been attacked in the same place a year ago.